LOT 130 *
1950 Bentley MKVI Saloon Chassis no. B7LHP Engine no. B146C
1950 Bentley MKVI Saloon Chassis no. B7LHP Engine no. B146C
1950 Bentley MKVI Saloon
Chassis no. B7LHP
Engine no. B146C
Chassis no. B7LHP
Engine no. B146C
• Registered in the Netherlands in December 1953
• Apparently an older restoration
• Present ownership since 2011
Please note that this motor car will be available for viewing by prior appointment in the Netherlands.
* Please note this motor car is subject to the reduced local import tax should it remains in the EU.
As Bonhams is the guarantor of the customs duties and taxes clearance, these motor cars cannot be released to the buyer or his transporter immediately after the sale.
Footnotes
"In a very short time, however, it was easily seen that the pressed steel Bentley bodies were as elegantly proportioned, as highly finished and as comfortably furnished as anything the traditional coachbuilders of the past had done; with the added virtues of immunity from rot and greater rigidity." - Anthony Bird & Ian Hallows, The Rolls-Royce Motor Car, 1964.
The policy of rationalisation begun in the late 1930s continued at Rolls-Royce after the war with the introduction of standard bodywork on the Mark VI Bentley. Rolls-Royce's first post-WW2 product, the Mark VI was introduced in 1946, a year ahead of the Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith. Although mechanically similar to the Mark VI, the latter was exclusively a coachbuilt car, the first 'standard steel' Rolls-Royce, the Silver Dawn, not appearing until 1949.
The decision to offer a complete car with 'in house' bodywork had been dictated by harsh economic reality. 'Export or die' was the slogan of the late 1940s, and the manufacture of standardised steel-bodied cars was deemed essential to selling in sufficient quantities to overseas markets. Despite the misgivings of traditionalists, exports rose steadily and, when the home market stabilised, the classically styled 'standard steel' bodywork proved equally acceptable, making up 80% of total production of this first post-war Bentley.
A separate chassis was retained, the same basic design being built in three different wheelbase lengths, that of the Mark VI (and Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn) measuring 10' exactly. Other notable features were independent front suspension and hydraulic front brakes. Powering the range was a new 4,257cc six-cylinder engine featuring inlet-over-exhaust valve gear and breathing through a single Stromberg carburettor (Rolls-Royce) or twin SUs (Bentley), though Bentleys destined for export had the Stromberg.
The Autocar magazine was highly impressed with their Mark VI test car in the Spring of 1950. "Perhaps the outstanding thought from extensive driving of the Bentley MkVI built by the world's premier car manufacturers, Rolls-Royce, is that it has no single predominant feature but gains its unique position from a combination of superbly matched qualities that raise it above the level of other cars. Years of painstaking research and development with mechanical perfection as the goal show their results unmistakably. Smoothness and quietness and sheer quality are in the superlative."
This left-hand drive Bentley Mark VI's early history is not known, the earliest record on file being Netherlands registration papers issued on 23rd December 1953. The current vendor purchased the car from J K de Vaal of De Lier, Netherlands on 28th October 2011 (bill of sale on file).
Please note this motor car is subject to import tax if remaining in the EU and, as it has been on static display for a number of years, will require recommissioning for road use. This motor car will be sold with its original Netherlands title,
Additional information
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| * | Import low rate |
| Subject to import tax at a preferential rate on Hammer Price and the prevailing rate on Buyer's Premium. |
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